Info on birthing in Germany

[RachelD]

Hi. I'm new to this forum, but so glad I found it. My husband and I are considering a move to Heidelburg in a couple months and will probably stay for at least 2 years. I'm 13 weeks pregnant with my first and trying to get a handle on the options for birth in Germany.

I was planning for a homebirth here in the States, but not sure whether doctors there tend to be as quick with the medical intervention as they are here. And it seems that midwives are much more common in Germany, but mostly attend hospital births? Is a "birth house" like a birthing center? So many questions...To complicate things a bit, I do not speak German (though plan to start learning soon) and while my husband's is pretty good, he's by no means fluent.

Any experiences or advice anyone could share would be much appreciated.

Looking forward to getting to know you,
Rachel

[Hollycrand]

Hello Rachel,

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Are you going to be affiliated with the military? DOD? If so, UlrikeDG would be your best source, as she lived in Heidelberg for a few years (with the military) and knows a lot about birthing there. I think she even had a homebirth?
You could probably try to PM her (you could tell her I recommended her).

The reason is, military/DOD medical insurance coverage tends to cover some different things, and I am not military affiliated so I have no idea.

If you and your husband will have ex-pat status and he'll be working for a German company on a German contract then it'll be absolutley no problem for you to do a homebirth if that is what you wish. IMO here in SW Germany homebirths aren't considered 'weird'. What you need to do is find a midwife (Hebamme in German) that specialises in homebirths and speaks English. Many German midwives speak good English (but not all). I don't know if Heidelberg has a Hebammegemeinschaftspraxis (Midwives association) that you could call.
I THINK Geburtshaus in German is the same as a birthing centre in the US. If so, give them a call. They'd be able to recommend a source of midwives to contact for a homebirth or who speak English.
One thing that's important to know (and I believe the military health insurance covers this as well) is that you are entitled to choose a midwife who comes to your house after the birth to make sure all is going well with BFing, to answer any questions you have (this is invaluable in the first few weeks with the first child, especially if you don't have family nearby) and to check on YOUR health. I believe a new mother is entitled to have at least 10 visits and more if there are difficulties.
If you have a homebirth, the homebirthing midwife will do this, but if you do choose to give birth anywhere else you need to choose someone in advance.
Midwives here are very happy to meet with expecting mothers, and it is not at all uncommon for moms to go to the Gyn/Ob only a couple of times during the pregnancy (to confirm pregnancy, etc.) and then exclusively visit the midwife.

I gave birth to my first dc here in Stuttgart in 2003. I was impressed by all the natural birthing options available, and while we chose not to give birth at home (and the Stuttgart Geburtshaus was not yet in existance) I gave birth at a hospital with a completely AP oriented Beleghebamme (a midwife who is present for the entire birth - normally the midwife is simply the one on duty at that time) who knew me, my birthing plan (no epidural, didn't want waterbirth, wanted to speak English in phase three, etc.) and the birth (11 hours) went VERY well. The same Midwife is going to deliver dc #2 (due in April) though I'll be having an ambulant birth instead of being convinced to stay in hospital 5 days by the hospital pediatrician (who I didn't like).
The 10 midwife visits afterwards (even though my MIL and mother were around) were great. I had so many questions about Bfing, diaper changing, and learned a lot about trusting my own instincts and not listening to the pediatrician.
Something I learned early on is that it is important to choose a pediatrician with the same views that you have. I chose the pediatrician in our village, thinking she'd be alright. When she started talking about weaning when the baby was 3 months old, or supplementing, I quickly looked elsewhere and ended up at the homeopathic pediatrician my midwife had recommended to me.
After the midwife visits, there are many places to go for BFing support (I recommend the midwives association or LLL because they tend to be more AP oriented) and there are probably Mutter-Kind Zentrum which offer special playgroups, classes or just places to go and have a glass of juice while your child plays with the toys and other children there.

Well, I am sorry this post is longer than I intended. I hope this helps a bit. I know some of the other mamas here in Germany have also given birth here and have their own experiences and stories to share.

[RachelD]

Holly,
Thanks so much for all the info- I'm sure I'll have more specific questions as time goes on. Also wanted to say that we're not affiliated with the military or DOD. My husband will be a research scientist at the European Molecular Biology Lab- so it's a German job with German healthcare. Does anybody know if insurance tends to cover all or some of the expenses of a homebirth?
Hoping to hear more and thanks,
Rachel

[EastonsMom]

I am so jealous!! I just moved back from Ramstein which is about 45 minutes away and I LOVED Heidelberg!!!! You will be able to do plenty walking around that BEAUTIFUL city; the castle, churches, cafe's! I had my Little Man at St Johnannis in Landstuhl in April and I would not have my children ANYWHERE else other than Germany!! If I ever get pregno again I am high tailing back to the Vaterland! The Germans are THE BEST at natural birthing and homebirth and midwifery. (Not to mention the cutest clothes and soft shoes and toys, and the food..!!!!) You will have no problem and you should have no problem with the insurance, Germans take VERY good care of that stuff. I am sure that the company can give you all that info before you go! ENJOY every second of it!! I am so homesick for Germany, especially this time of year. Alot of people in the med field speak decent English. I went knowing German so I was kucky in that. I lived next door to a Midwife, Alexa Weber, I don't remember her number but I could look her up my friend still lives in our village, she could give you alot of info, plus she speaks English and worked with Americans. PM me if you are intersested. Good luck and let me know!!!


One more thing that I loved about the birth process, By law, in the hospital at least, you have to have a midwife present for the birth, the DR cannot deliver a baby without her there!!! But she can deliver without him. Finally a country that had it together!!

[Hollycrand]

Rachel,

As far as I know, German health insurance covers 100% of the expenses from a homebirth. Even though the state is cutting back on health care coverage, they haven't cut anything out from pediatric care or neo-natal/post natal care. I think we've got the extremely low German birthrate to thank for that.

I've been looking on the web, and it seems that the U of Heidelberg has got a midwife training programme that is very well known. You should try to contact them (I found a few articles in English about them, but didn't look any further because my dd is itching to eat breakfast now) to get the names of some English speaking homebirthing midwives and then interview a couple. You want a woman with whom you click...

[Glittergal]

Hi,
Just thought I'd pop in here to ask some questions as well. Do any of you who have been in Germany for DoD or military, know if the military hospitals had CNMs? If so, do you know if they were civilians? I know, kind of a stretch :)
Also, anyone know anyone who has apprenticed with German midwives or anything of the sort? I'm asking because my husband is a DoD employee and we are trying to desperately move. Germany is a huge possibility for us and we would :love to make the move, but I'm a CNM and there is no way I can be overseas for yrs, not be around birth, and ever work here in the states again. Anyways, I guess that was more than I meant to ask ....sorry to steal your thread RachelD :)

[EastonsMom]

Hi,
Just thought I'd pop in here to ask some questions as well. Do any of you who have been in Germany for DoD or military, know if the military hospitals had CNMs? If so, do you know if they were civilians? I know, kind of a stretch :)
Also, anyone know anyone who has apprenticed with German midwives or anything of the sort? I'm asking because my husband is a DoD employee and we are trying to desperately move. Germany is a huge possibility for us and we would :love to make the move, but I'm a CNM and there is no way I can be overseas for yrs, not be around birth, and ever work here in the states again. Anyways, I guess that was more than I meant to ask ....sorry to steal your thread RachelD :)

I was at Landsuhl RMC for the first half of my pregnancy but I had to BEG and PLEAD to go off base and I am so glad that I did. I know plenty of people that didn't mind there birth experince there but they were not into the whole birth proccess as I am. They do have CNM ( civ) at the facilities but they are controled by the Mil. Drs. I was pressured into an epidural when I was only 9 wks! ( When they go over your " birth plan") They look at birth only in the medical aspect and they have to "follow the plan" For some people that is fine, but it wasn't to me. I wanted to have control and a say in my childs birth. That is all IMO though. I bet if you talked to German midwifes they might be able to help you with working with them off base. Better, enviroment and Lord knows better pay!!( can I say Euro!!!! :) )Like I said in a previous post, I know a great one that was my neighbor that could give you info if intersted. Give me a shout if you are.

[Glittergal]

EastonsMom - hmmm, I was afraid that would be the response. Especially since I'm coming from an out of hosp birth center. Which is why I would love to hook up with some homebirth german midwives and be their birth asst or do something like that. I don't even need to get paid. The problem is figuring out the legality of it all. THere is no reciprocity with European and US midwives and there aren't even any countries where you can test and get a license, everywhere you have to complete a program in that country. Anyway, I totally didn't mean to take over this thread. I would love to get in touch with the midwife you know. Does she email? pm me. Thanks!

[behr]

Just chiming in with my experience with hb mw's. While the insurance does cover 100% of prenatal care and the birth, they don't cover the on-call service, usually. I had to pay about 200 Euro for that service to my mw, seems allright to me though.
Also, you will get to choose your insurance provider once your dh starts to work. Different providers pay for different things, some don't cover alternative medicines, some do. Talk to other poeple about that before you decide! I was signed up with Techniker Krankenkasse who paid for all of my herbal stuff, homebirth kit, and 10 sessions of accupuncture per year.
Pm if you need more info!

[behr]

Glittergal,
my dh is an RN and his degree was accepted for working in Germany. It took 6 months and was a huge pain, but it worked. They have an office in each Landesregierung (each particular area of Germany) who deals with this issue, it's usuallly just person though.
I would try and get in touch with some regional mw school office and just ask them via email about your situation.

[Girl Named Sandoz]

Hello

Congratulations on your pregnancy, I'm German, married to a Brit and live in the UK. I returned to Germany to have my son. You can have homebirths in Germany with a Hebamme (midwife). Midwives in Germany are very well trained and have the same status as nurses. By law, a midwife has to be present at every birth, a doctor is optional.

I had my son in hospital (natural birth). I laboured in a tub until transition. It was a UNICEF accredited 'breastfeeding friendly' hospital, and my DH was allowed to room in with us the entire time we were there (private room), they encouraged co-sleeping etc. DS never left my side in the whole time we were there.

I plan to have a home birth with my next (in the UK).

[moonbaby]

The german insurance covers all the expensses from the homebirth.
Greetings
Moonbaby